Word: irelander
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...Adamstown is one of scores of developments that sprang up across Ireland during the country's boom years in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Families and young professionals quickly snapped up properties in what was to be the first complete new "town" to be built in Ireland in more than 20 years. Four years after the construction started, however, the building sites in Adamstown are as quiet as the empty streets. More than 200 properties are either vacant or unfinished, and the shopping center, soccer field and swimming pool promised in the glossy advertising booklets have yet to materialize...
...Lenihan says housing prices need only appreciate 10% over the next 10 years for NAMA to return a profit on its initial expenditure. But predicting what's around the corner is never easy - as Ireland knows only too well. According to NAMA's draft business plan, a "prolonged property market depression" or "sluggish economic growth" could result in the failure of the scheme. Despite the risks, proponents say it's the only way to ensure that Ireland's banks start lending again. But for residents bearing the brunt of the country's economic slump, NAMA is little more than...
...pays off in monthly installments of $2,400. In the past two years, however, his apartment has dropped in value by nearly half. To make matters worse, he lost his job three months ago and has been unable to find work since. He's by no means alone. Ireland's unemployment rate has doubled in the past year, to 12.5%, and is expected to reach 15% by 2010, with the biggest job losses coming in the construction industry. "NAMA is helping the wrong people," Cummins says. "I'll probably be evicted next year if I can't find another...
...neighbor Guinevere Kirk, a nurse, is also firmly opposed to NAMA. Along with the rest of Ireland's public-sector workforce, she faces a probable wage cut in December when public spending is expected to be slashed in the budget in a bid to reduce Ireland's gaping deficit. "No one even knows if [NAMA] will work because it's never been done before," she says. "All I know is that it won't be the developers or bankers who'll be feeling the pain if it all goes wrong." (Read "Ireland's Economy: Celtic Crunch Time...
...Those who support NAMA say Ireland has little option but to take the plunge. The International Monetary Fund has predicted that Irish banks could lose up to $53 billion next year if they fail to get rid of their toxic assets. For Pat McCloughan, a Dublin-based economist, the looming bankruptcy threat outweighs all other concerns. "Unfortunately, developers going out of business and home repossessions are an inevitable part of [the downturn]. But a much bigger problem would be if one of the big banks was to fail. That would have massive repercussions for a small country like Ireland...